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Frontier GoWild Pass National Parks You Can Actually Visit
- Feb 23
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 21
Realistic routes, hub strategies, and how to stack 20+ U.S. national parks in one year.
The Frontier GoWild Pass starts at $299 in a presale and runs $599 at regular price. Here is how to use it to visit 20+ national parks without a long-distance road trip.
The GoWild Pass gives you unlimited Frontier flights for a flat annual fee (plus taxes and fees per booking). That alone makes it an affordable way to build multi-stop park trips across the country. To do this, the best way is clustering. Instead of one brutal cross-country road trip, you fly into a city like Denver, Las Vegas, or Salt Lake City, rent a car, and stack 3-5 parks in a single trip.
Can You Actually Use the GoWild Pass for National Parks?
Yes, and if you plan strategically, you can hit 20+ parks in a single year.
Here's how:
Target major Frontier hub cities, like the ones I mentioned above
Focus on park clusters within 1-5 hours of those airports, see my list below!
Stack 3-5 parks per trip
Stay flexible with dates
📥 Download the free Excel spreadsheet of every national park organized by airport and distance.
Frontier serves 100+ U.S. destinations, with strong hub presence in Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando, and Phoenix, all gateway cities to multiple parks. Treat it like route optimization, not random weekend trips, and the math works in your favor although there are opportunities for some day trips like St. Louis to see Gateway Arch National Park!
How Many Parks Is This?
If you hit everything on this list, you're looking at:
20+ U.S. National Parks
Multiple 3-5 park road trip loops
One very full passport of park stamps or water bottle full of stickers lol
Pro Tip: Buy a parks sticker pack at a visitor's center and use any bottle as your tracking bottle! I use my Stanley 40oz Cup!
Why My Strategy Works
It comes down to airport geography. Many national parks aren't near each other, but many are near major airline hubs. So, I've done some research for you.
Denver: 4 Colorado parks within driving distance
Las Vegas: unlocks the entire Utah and Arizona cluster
Phoenix: Arizona's desert parks
Orlando: Florida's coastal parks
Salt Lake City: Utah's Mighty Five
You're not flying to the parks. You're flying near them, renting a car, and doing what road trippers do, just without the 3-day drive to get there first, which in my opinion if you don't have a trusty side kick (aka pet) is perfect.
Is It Cheaper Than Road Tripping?
In many cases, yes.
If you live far from the western parks, a traditional road trip means thousands of miles in gas, extra nights in motels, and real wear on your vehicle. With the GoWild Pass, your costs are:
GoWild Pass fee (I paid $299 this year)
Booking taxes and fees (~$15+ per flight, depending on if you opted into an Early Booking Promo)
Rental car
Standard park admission (Annual Passes are $80, and not all parks require an entrance fee)
For flexible travelers, remote workers, shoulder-season adventurers, people who can move their schedule around, this can cost less than long-distance driving. That said, if you need guaranteed flights weeks in advance or you're traveling during peak summer, this pass will frustrate you. I promise.
Plan Your Trip in the App
Want the whole day mapped with stops, timing, and links ready to go? Get the St. Louis Gateway Arch day trip itinerary in the app.
Who This Pass Is (and Isn't) For
Great fit if you're:
A flexible traveler or remote worker
Comfortable booking last-minute
Near a Frontier-served airport
Budget-conscious and willing to plan around routes
Not the right tool if you're:
Locked into school schedules or holiday travel
Someone who needs flights confirmed months ahead
Unwilling to adjust your dates, which yes, sucks for NPS lottery winners. I would not use this pass if you have a lottery slot somewhere to get there, maybe on the way home.
What about kids?
The pass has blackout dates that tend to fall during school holidays and weekends honestly, so midweek travel is your friend. Worth noting: there's no discounted rate for children, every pass is priced the same regardless of age. If your family has schedule flexibility, it can still work. Read the blackout dates carefully before committing.
The Parks, By Hub
Colorado, Fly into Denver
Denver is basically 'cheat code' status for national parks in my opinion.
One rental car, 4-5 days, and you can realistically knock out 2-3 of these in a single trip plus other amazing things. There are tons of 'Colorado National Park Road Trip' itineraries, vlogs, Instagram accounts and more with variations of this exact trip. I'm in no way reinventing a wheel here.
Desert Cathedral Loop, Fly into Las Vegas
Las Vegas packs a lot of parks into a small radius. You can hit 3-4 parks in 4-6 days, and you will absolutely need plenty of water, don't be like me and learn the hard way, lol. If you fly into Vegas I suggest tacking Red Rocks National Conservation Area and Valley of Fire State Park onto your way to Zion, even if you just drive through. Very cool, and a climbing mecca.
I've done Zion and Bryce personally, check out my posts on hiking all 16 miles of The Narrows and an overnight trip to Bryce Canyon.
Utah's Mighty Five, Fly into Salt Lake City (or Las Vegas)
These five parks anchor an American Southwest road trip.
One strong option: fly into Denver, road trip through Colorado, continue into Utah, and fly home from Salt Lake City or Las Vegas, a long one-way trip instead of a loop. I would personally do it this way but to each their own.
For a breakdown of the Fiery Furnace hike at Arches, click here.
Florida, Fly into Orlando, Tampa, or Fort Lauderdale
Dry Tortugas requires advance planning and a ferry or seaplane, budget accordingly. It's expensive. The rest are very doable midweek. I haven't done this trip yet but I have it planned for 2026 hopefully! I would recommend looking at when hurricane season is and avoiding it at all costs.
Pacific Northwest, Fly into Seattle or Portland
Bring layers. Always.
Seattle:
Portland:
Southeast Underrated Gems
These fly under the radar, don't sleep on them.
Great Smoky Mountains, Fly into Knoxville
Congaree, Fly into Charlotte
Easy wins. Surprisingly stunning.
Arizona Trio, Fly into Phoenix
Arizona is deeply underrated outside of the Grand Canyon, and the Grand Canyon alone is worth the flight.
California Sierra Gateway, Fly into Sacramento
Fresno used to be the easy way in here, but Frontier doesn't fly there anymore, so Sacramento is the move now. Plan on a longer drive in, around 3 hours 15 minutes to Yosemite and about 4.5 hours to Sequoia and Kings Canyon.
Northern California, Fly into Sacramento
Texas, Fly into El Paso
Wild Cave Tour at Mammoth Cave National Park
Want the whole day mapped with stops, timing, and links ready to go? Use the Free Itinerary Builder and Itinerary Library to plan your trip.
One-Off Airports Worth Knowing
These parks don't cluster as tightly, but they're worth the trip, and some pair nicely with road trip extensions.
Fly Into | Park |
Nashville | Mammoth Cave |
St. Louis (great urban day trip) | Gateway Arch |
Little Rock | Hot Springs |
Chicago | Indiana Dunes |
Cleveland/Columbus | Cuyahoga Valley |
Washington D.C. | Shenandoah |
I've visited Mammoth Cave and the Black Hills personally, see my 3-Day Mammoth Cave Weekend and South Dakota Multi-Park Road Trip posts.
I've also done a day trip for Gateway Arch National Park which you can read about here!
Quick Reference: Parks by Frontier Hub
Hub Airport | Parks Within Driving Distance |
Denver | Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes |
Las Vegas | Zion, Bryce Canyon, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree |
Phoenix | Grand Canyon, Saguaro, Petrified Forest |
Salt Lake City | Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion |
Orlando | Everglades, Biscayne, Dry Tortugas |
Seattle | Olympic, Mount Rainier, North Cascades |
Portland | Crater Lake |
Sacramento | Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Lassen Volcanic |
El Paso | Guadalupe Mountains, White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns |
Knoxville | Great Smoky Mountains |
Charlotte | Congaree |
Nashville | Mammoth Cave |
St. Louis | Gateway Arch |
Little Rock | Hot Springs |
Chicago | Indiana Dunes |
What I Pack for a GoWild Trip
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Frontier GoWild Pass worth it for visiting national parks?
Yes, if you are flexible. The GoWild Pass is a good fit for travelers who can book last-minute flights and build trips around available routes. If you cluster parks near Frontier hub cities like Denver, Las Vegas, or Phoenix, the savings can be significant. Day trips and short weekend getaways from one-off airports work great too.
How many national parks can you realistically visit with the Frontier GoWild Pass?
With smart route planning, you can visit 20+ national parks in one year. Many parks are grouped near major airport hubs, making it possible to stack 3-5 parks per trip.
Does Frontier Airlines fly near major national parks?
Yes. Frontier flies into key gateway cities like Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Orlando, and Phoenix, all of which provide access to multiple national parks within driving distance.
Is flying with the GoWild Pass cheaper than road tripping?
In many cases, yes. If you live far from western national parks, flights using the GoWild Pass can cost less than gas, lodging during cross-country drives, and wear on your vehicle. Factor in rental car costs, but for many travelers the math still works in the pass's favor.
What are the best national park clusters for Frontier GoWild travelers?
Popular clusters include Utah's Mighty Five (via Las Vegas or Salt Lake City), Colorado parks (via Denver), Arizona parks (via Phoenix), Florida parks (via Orlando or Tampa), and Pacific Northwest parks (via Seattle or Portland).
Final Verdict: Is Frontier GoWild Worth It for National Park Lovers?
If you plan around hub airports, stack parks intentionally, and stay flexible with your dates, the Frontier GoWild Pass is an efficient and affordable way to see the U.S. national park system.
It's not for everyone. But for the right traveler, it's a cheat code.
📥 Download the Free National Park Cluster Checklist to map your routes, airport hubs, and park clusters before you book a single flight.
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